Mount & Blade: Wind of War

Let’s not take into account extraordinary lives for now. As far as ordinary soldiers and swordsmen are concerned, the two sides often decide the outcome in an instant.

Life is tenacious but also fragile. When the vital parts of the human body are attacked, it is normal for them to be disabled or die in a very short time.

In the basement of the lord’s mansion, the sword fight between Rhodes and Arlos reached a fever pitch in a very short time. Although Arlos’ swordsmanship was much better than Rhodes’, at least it was not so good as shown so far.

Therefore, he was suppressed by Rhodes’ attack-on-attack style and fell into a disadvantage in a short time, because he was inferior in the concentration of mind and momentum.

However, at the moment when Rhodes’ long sword was about to reach him, Arlos’ figure suddenly turned into a phantom, and the next moment he suddenly appeared behind Rhodes and stabbed with a sword.

Moon Shadow Step·Illusionary Moon Shadow, this move was originally a taboo move, at least it should not be shown to the world for the time being, but because of his pride, Arlos couldn't help but use it. He felt that most of the people around him were inexperienced, and even the wandering knight Fatis should not be able to see the source of this secret skill.

"This is enough to defeat you!"

Watching the sword in his hand getting closer and closer to the human lord's vest, Arlos also slightly retracted his strength. It was just a sword competition, and he had no intention of killing for it.

However, at this moment, the man in front of him spun rapidly, his strength and speed suddenly became stronger and faster, and his spine with huge power rolled like a dragon in the sea of ​​clouds, forcibly stabbing back the sword.

In other words, at this moment, Rhodes turned around and stabbed faster than the speed of the sword, but from the perspective of human body mechanics, this was almost impossible.

Unless he had predicted at the beginning that Arlos would suddenly appear behind him, and therefore the sword strike was a feint, this was possible. But this kind of prediction itself was impossible.

At this moment, the two swords crossed each other.

Whether it was Arlos who rushed forward, or Rhodes who suddenly increased his strength and speed and turned back to strike a sword, they could not stop their swords and it was difficult to stop.

With a slash, the clothes were torn and blood was splashed. The people around all cried out at this moment. No one really wanted to see blood.

People on both sides were worried about their lords.

In an instant, Arlos and Rhodes crossed each other, both holding swords and rushing two steps, and then slowly stopped.

"Huhu..."

At this moment, Arlos's white cheek was stained with blood. The female knight Rui'er rushed over and wiped the blood, only to find that Arlos was not injured, so she breathed a sigh of relief. The next moment, her eyes were sharp, and she almost reached out to draw the sword at her waist.

"No matter what the reason, anyone who dares to hurt the master must die. He must die." This is the meaning of her life.

But the next moment, her sword-drawing hand was held down by Arlos in front of her.

"Mr. Arlos, how about this match being a draw?"

At this time, Rhodes, who was also surrounded by Cress and others with red eyes, pressed his left shoulder that was still bleeding and looked back.

Just at that moment, the sword in Rhodes's hand swept across Arlos' neck, and the opponent's sword also tore his shoulder and arm.

"No... one is disabled and the other is dead. No matter how you count it, I lose this competition. All the bet conditions I promised Lord Rhodes before are all counted."

Although Rhodes saw blood in this sword fight, in the end, Arlos was willing to bleed money, which was a happy ending for everyone.

But after Arlos left, Rhodes and others returned to his bedroom. Cress helped Rhodes bandage his sword wound, and the people present naturally talked about Arlos.

"This person is weird. She hit me on the head when we first met. I hate her so much. When I cook dinner today, I'll put the mushrooms I picked recently in her soup." When she said this, Kress gnashed her teeth in hatred. Her worship and loyalty to her lord were no less than that of the female knight Ruier beside Yalos.

"This is impossible. The food of Yalos' steward is made by himself, and I accidentally saw that every time the maid brought the food in, the female knight named Ruier would taste each one first." Raymond said this, because he was defeated instantly by Yalos's sword, so he looked very annoyed and depressed at the moment, and it was difficult to let go.

"This kind of behavior, such a loyal and close follower, these are not what a businessman should be like." For some reasons, Rhodes' shoulder injury was not very serious. After Kress bandaged it, he shook slightly and felt that it did not affect his normal activities, so he stood up and put on his coat.

"He doesn't care about five hundred or one thousand gold coins. This is not something that can be explained by a wealthy merchant in the ordinary sense. This kind of person despises money from the bottom of his heart, because in the environment where he grew up, there are things that are much more important than money."

"Power! In the eyes of some people, even wealthy businessmen are lowly and ridiculous. When money comes to the fore, sin can also become glory. When power reaches the top, even a mountain of gold coins will lose its luster." Fatis whispered an ancient proverb. At this moment, his eyes met with Rhodes's. Both of them had understood.

"Well, it means that Yaros is not actually a businessman, but..."

There were not just Rhodes and Fatis in the bedroom. At this moment, Raymond and Kress were still a little confused and unsure.

"Okay, Raymond, go back and rest quickly."

When Raymond was guessing, Rhodes said this. He was not interested in letting him continue guessing. It had nothing to do with the development of Redwood Town or his own plan.

There are too many secrets in this world, and the more you know, sometimes the closer you are to death.

In the early morning of the next day, Riel, the personal female knight in charge of Alos, came to discuss with Rhodes the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce's investment in Redwood Town. Perhaps out of apology, the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce was far more generous than Rhodes. De's original expectation:

The investment in a velvet factory and a blacksmith shop was just the land purchase fee for these two factories, which amounted to 6,500 gold coins, which was quite an exaggerated amount of money.

In addition, the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce is responsible for construction-related aspects and skilled technicians. Redwood Town only needs to improve the land and protection, and can obtain large land purchase fees and a steady stream of business taxes. A large number of civilians in the town can also obtain related jobs. Opportunities to work.

"However, there are no iron mines near Redwood Town, nor are they rich in silk fabrics..."

"You don't need to think about these. The Atlanta Chamber of Commerce will naturally be responsible for providing relevant raw materials. However, this time the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce caravan explores the wilderness, and it also needs the full support of your Redwood Town. For this, we are willing to pay part of the land purchase in advance. cost."

The land purchase fee for the velvet factory is 5,000 gold coins, and the land purchase fee for the blacksmith shop is 1,500 gold coins. After the factory is built, it can continue to pay commercial taxes and stimulate the economic vitality of the entire Redwood Town... ...Such an opportunity that is almost a step to the sky makes it difficult for Rhodes, as the lord of Redwood Town, to refuse.

"This is a thousand gold coins. This is a promissory note from the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. You can withdraw another thousand gold coins or goods of equivalent value from the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. If you and your militia group can do it in the next If Mr. Jaros is satisfied with the mission, then this will be the deposit. If not, these will be the remuneration and compensation." As she spoke, the female knight with long aqua hair handed over a suitcase of gold coins and a bill. Pushed in front of Rhodes.

After the female knight Riel left, Rhodes looked at the suitcase of gold coins and bills on the table in front of him for a long time with a thoughtful expression.

"It seems that Mr. Jaros recognizes the military strength of Redwood Town and me. If he succeeds in opening up a new trade route, he will also need to be closer to the production and transit base of the wilderness. If he can control the economic lifeline of Redwood Town, Then we are only one step away from controlling the entire Redwood Town... If you are spending money on your own territory, you really don’t have to care too much about how much you invest and whether you can recover the cost, you only need to consider the long-term benefits. "

Yalos did not expect that his large investment would arouse Rhodes' vigilance. Because the money was so huge, Rhodes could not suppress his greed. However, after a lifetime of greed, At this moment, the vigilance string in his thinking system was plucked.

As a 21st century traveler, he is all too familiar with this feeling. In previous lives, almost all scammers used to arouse the greed of their victims as bait, and then ate up their wealth. In the previous life, When Rhodes was seventy or eighty years old, such people appeared in large numbers, trying to defraud Rhodes of his coffin book. If the country's police force had not been developed, they almost succeeded on several occasions.

Since then, Rhodes has set a vigilance string in his thinking system. Whenever his own greed appears, this string is the first to be plucked.

"...I don't think about Yalos's background and how powerful he is behind him. I will eat the bait he gives me first, and then I will consider whether I can drag him down as well." Rhodes knew it very well. What is my biggest reliance? In this world, anything can happen. What I and my subordinates who are loyal to me need most is more time to grow.